Here’s How You Can Move Out Of An Emotional Limbo

August 24, 2018 by NILAKSHI PATHAK

If you have watched the movie “Inception”, you surely know what limbo means. Well, limbo is a state of uncertainty. The dictionary defines it as “an uncertain period of awaiting a decision” and as an “intermediate state or condition”. But what does emotional limbo means? Emotional limbo can be best understood as a situation where you have just moved out of a relationship but you not quite sure about it and therefore you are not able to completely move on to a new relationship. Well, don’t get it wrong. Not wanting a new relationship after the old one is totally okay and if you are sure about it, then it is not an emotional limbo. However, if you are unsure about it because of the emotional gap between your old and new relationship, then you can claim that you are in an emotional limbo.

One can sink into emotional limbo after losing a significant relationship. This relationship can be romantic but one needs to know that they are many other kinds of relationships too. A heartbreak can also occur due to loss of a friend or just a simple disappearance of your loved ones. In such a situation, it is very easy to get caught in grief, terror, self-doubt and other negative feelings. The feeling of numbness after a breakup or the shock that you get after receiving a bad news can push you to emotional limbo where you are just hanging in between the pain and progress.

You must have gone through this phase without even knowing about it. If you have overcome it, then congrats! But if you are still stuck there, then here is a piece of advice, you need to move on. Make some movement! You can’t wait for a third person to come and make things okay for you. It is your life and you have to control it. Having said that, I know it is hard to take a step towards improvement especially if you are in an emotional limbo. But here’s the good news, even the baby steps will do! But you need to take the steps, you need to keep moving. Many a time, we have to do things that we don’t want to do just for the sake of doing it because that’s the right thing to do. So, force yourself if you need to do that but the bottom line is, you need to get it going.

How can I move out of emotional limbo?

Here are five ways to move out of emotional limbo.

1. Cry your heart out.

You cannot start the healing process without grieving. Hidden sadness will crack up later in your life if you do not address it. You can hide your grief but you cannot escape from it! Cry your heart out if needed. Throw things out, give your rage a way out but remember to do it in a non-destructive manner. Question everything, go against the rules. Just feel the pain, acknowledge your grief. Breathe in the pain and then once you have everything out of your system, you need to close this chapter for once and for all. Now that you have faced the pain, it is time for you to emerge as a stronger person.

2. Analyze everything

Things fall apart due to a reason. To be specific, things fall apart because of a problem. Analyze the problem. What was the problem that ended the relationship? Pinpoint each and every problem. The next thing that you need to do is to ask yourself did you cause any problem? Was there a problem in you? If you have created the problem, why did you do so? How can you improve yourself and become a better version? Work on that. Make a list of all the problems that you have. Now, don’t ignore these problems, fix it. Create mini-steps to fix the problems. And if you were not the one with the problem, then you should simply move on. In fact, you should jot it down in your gratitude journal! You should be thankful that you were saved. The best way of solving a problem in your life is by acknowledging it.

And please remember, while doing this do not develop the victim mentality. You alone can control each and every situation of your life. If you are thinking that you are a victim, the truth is you do not want to fix that problem. You are not a victim.

3. Indulge in self-improvement activities

I cannot stress enough on the importance of indulging in activities that will help you to improve yourself. Break up brings a lot of negativities and you might end up thinking you are never enough, you have x and y problems. You don’t need to live with such negativities! Take control and fix it. The best way of doing it is by creating a vision board. Prepare a “current me vs future me” board. You will now have a vision of the things that you want in your life. Once, your vision board prepared, create sub-tasks or mini-goals that you need to accomplish for turning that vision into reality. Once, you start yourself, you will bring a load of positive energy with you. And trust me, when I say you will feel better when you walk in the path of self-improvement.

4. Connect with real people

In this digital world, half of the things are virtual. People enjoy spending time on social media networks. Get rid of your virtual friends and connections. Go out and enjoy the world. Go out an meet people. Instead of chatting, give a call to your loved ones. If possible, go out and meet them. Go for a vacation with your friends and family. Have you heard about the term “skin hunger”? Well, human beings are social animals and we all know that. And guess what? The human beings need physical human contact. Get rid of skin hunger. Go out and hug your loved ones, or just a random baby. You will feel better for sure! Your numbness will start fading away and you will end up with a real smile!

5. Start living your life like a story

Your life is a story and you are the author. As the author, you have the power to end a chapter and to begin a new one. Do it. Make yourself that perfect protagonist that you love to read about. Welcome those traits and just write the best story that someone has ever read. Who likes to read a monotonous book or say, who like to watch a monotonous movie? No one, so, how can you think of making your life monotonous? Be creative, bring new twists and turns, meet new people, engage in new activities, once in a while do silly things and enjoy!

You do not need to follow the ways mentioned above simultaneously. Go step by step, start with the first solution and then move to the second. And soon, you will be welcome a newer you, a better you!